


Look Through My Eyes

by LobsterLobster



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: DINLUKE, Din Djarin is bad at flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LobsterLobster/pseuds/LobsterLobster
Summary: “How well can you see out of that?” Luke asked, clearly indicating his helmet.Din narrowed his eyes. “It’s not a stormtrooper helmet."(Din makes some exceptions for Luke!)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 15
Kudos: 459





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After Season 2, Din finds Luke and Grogu on Yavin IV and stays with them for a while. Din is comfortable removing his helmet when he’s alone with Luke and Grogu, but still mostly wears it around anyone else.  
> Not super relevant to this story, but I’m ignoring the sequels in favor of the old EU. That’s how I plan to characterize Luke anyway.

The Mandalorian was in a full run, tearing along a thin path through the jungle. The air filters on his helmet were set at maximum capacity but he was still breathing heavily. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this pace.

Slowing down wasn’t an option. Not if he wanted to keep his pride intact, anyway. Din had started joining Luke on his morning runs and the Jedi was annoyingly good at running. Every time Din started to close the distance between them, Luke got another burst of energy and pulled away again. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, but this was bordering on absurd.

Grogu was attached to Luke’s back in some sort of special harness. Sometimes he would turn his head to look at Din, waving his little green claws. The kid was having the time of his life. Din was seriously considering using his grappling line to tie Luke up so he would finally stop. But that might hurt Grogu. Din gritted his teeth and pushed himself forward.

Then Luke slowed to a walk. Din slowed down too, giving himself a few moments to catch his breath before he came up beside Luke on the edge of a small clearing.

“Let’s stop here,” Luke said. Din was gratified to see that Luke was also out of breath and sweat was plastering his hair to his head.

Luke carefully removed the harness from his back and let Grogu free to wander around. The kid loved to explore the jungle but he rarely strayed out of eye sight of Luke or Din, unless there was something particularly interesting that he wanted to eat. Din scanned the area and saw only a few blips of heat that might be small animals hiding in the grass. No immediate danger.

He suppressed a groan as he lowered himself to the ground beside Luke. After a moment of hesitation, Din removed his helmet and set it on the ground beside him. He wiped sweat from his eyes and focused on stretching out the muscles in his legs before they started to cramp. It had been a while since he’d trained this hard and after only a week he was already starting to feel stronger.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Luke was watching him curiously.

Din was still a little bit out of breath, so he only nodded.

“How well can you see out of that?” Luke asked, clearly indicating his helmet.

Din narrowed his eyes. “It’s not a stormtrooper helmet,” he said, more defensively than he’d intended. Or maybe exactly as defensively as he’d intended.

“I know that,” Luke said, clearly taken aback, “I didn’t mean…”

Din didn’t listen to Luke’s words. He turned his head, refused to look at Luke, watched Grogu playing.

He’d heard the same things more times than he could count. Can you even see? How do you people stand it? How can you breathe with that bucket on your head?

After a moment Luke spoke up again, “I’m sorry.”

Din glanced at him and Luke looked so miserable that Din suddenly felt guilty for judging him so harshly. He knew that Luke wasn’t like all the others.

Din sighed. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Luke immediately brightened. Din held his helmet out to Luke, who took it in his hands, stared wide eyed at the shiny beskar, then looked at Din questioningly.

“Go on,” Din said, gesturing. He added, sternly, “Be careful.”

Before Din could change his mind, and he was about half a second from coming to his senses and changing his mind, Luke spun the helmet around and placed it over his head.

“Oh, wow!” It was deeply surreal to hear Luke’s voice filtered through the helmet. “The field of view is much wider than I would have thought! And everything is so clear.”

“Mandalorian helmets have infrared detection, a HUD with target identification, controls for the jetpack, and a comm system that can link with the ship,” Din explained.

Luke stood up and took a few steps in random directions. “Oh, I found the head’s up! It responds to my eye movement! Wow!” He swiveled his head this way and that.

He reminded Din so much of an over excited foundling trying on a helmet for the first time, that Din found himself grinning as he watched Luke’s antics.

Luke paused, head cocked slightly to the side, “What are whistling birds?”

Din’s eyes went wide as the little blue lights on his gauntlet activated. In a flash, Din was on his feet.

“That’s enough!” he said, quickly lifting the helmet straight off Luke’s head.

Luke was startled, “What?”

“This is a dangerous weapon! It’s not a toy to play with!” Din snapped. “I told you to be careful. You can’t just mess around!”

Luke looked like he’d been slapped. For the second time that day Din felt a flash of guilt. This was more his fault than Luke’s. If he was being honest, it was only his fault.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Luke was saying, “It was careless of me to try to use it like that.”

Din put on his helmet and deactivated the whistling birds. He cursed under his breath, muttering, “Messed up all my defaults…” He spent the next few minutes looking like he was staring into space while he reset everything that Luke had accidentally changed. Once he finished, he realized that Luke had that miserable expression again.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Din said. Shouldn’t have snapped at Luke and shouldn’t have let him touch his helmet in the first place.

Luke gathered up Grogu and they headed back to the temple. Din took the lead, secretly relieved that Luke didn’t suggest they run again. When the path widened, Luke walked alongside him.

“Maybe you could teach me how to use it,” Luke suggested.

“Do you want to become a Mandalorian? Are you planning to swear the creed?”

“No,” Luke said, giving Din a small smile, “I probably shouldn’t. One ancient religion is enough for me.”

They walked through the jungle in a companionable silence for a while before Luke spoke up again.

“Well, you are right about one thing. Your helmet is worlds away from stormtrooper gear.”

Din smiled behind his helmet and somehow he felt that Luke could tell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din considers making some more exceptions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this timeline, Grogu is Luke’s first student. There’s a small New Republic force keeping the former Rebel base running. During the days Luke is busy training Grogu and researching the old Jedi Order, while Din usually works on his ship or goes on security patrols.

The Mandalorian and the Jedi walked through the jungle back to the temple. Grogu was strapped to Luke’s back and normally he loved being carried like that but now he was getting fussy. Their morning run had gone much further than usual and Grogu was displeased that breakfast was delayed.

When they came to the clearing in front of the main hangar bay, Din stopped. He called out, “Luke.”

Luke stopped, turned around to see he wasn’t following.

Din said, “You can’t tell anyone that I did that. Let you wear my helmet.”

Luke tilted his head a little, but said, “Of course.” Din got the impression that Luke was only humoring him, he didn’t really understand.

“I’m serious. You can’t tell anyone, ever. Not your sister. Not a hundred years from now and you’re on your death bed,” Din said, then the most important thing, “And you absolutely cannot tell another Mandalorian.”

“I won’t. I promise,” Luke said, his eyes meeting Din’s visor. Din could tell he was sincere. Luke was always sincere.

For a second, Luke looked like he wanted to ask a question but then thought better of it and Din felt a flash of irritation. Luke did that a lot. He’d be about to say something but then hold back, like he was afraid of offending Din and was tip toeing around him.

“It’s not done. Even Mandalorians who show their faces, they would never let someone else wear their helmet. Never. Between Mandalorians, touching someone else’s helmet is disrespectful. It’s a challenge. You’d be well within your rights to kill someone for trying to take your helmet.”

Luke listened thoughtfully. He said, “I understand. I can keep a secret. Trust me.”

Din finally nodded. They went to the cafeteria and picked up three trays of food and brought them back to the small table in the common room of Luke’s private suite. Din was surprised at how quickly he’d gotten used to eating with Luke and Grogu, without his helmet.

Usually Luke kept up a cheerful banter, telling Din about his plans for the day or about some adventure from his years with the Rebellion. Din usually kept quiet, as he didn’t like to talk while he was eating, but he enjoyed listening to Luke’s stories and Grogu always seemed happy when he joined them. Today Luke was quieter than usual, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, smiling a bit to himself.

“Whatever’s on your mind, go ahead and say it,” Din said, gesturing with his utensil.

Luke looked up from his food. “I was thinking that for you to make such a big exception for me,” Luke glanced at Din’s helmet, resting on the table beside him. He smile, “then that must mean I’m pretty special.”

Din had no idea what to say to that, so he scooped up the last of his breakfast and took a large bite to avoid talking.

“So I was wondering…” Luke continued, “what other exceptions you might make for me.”

Din swallowed his food. He shrugged. “What do you want?”

Luke had stopped eating and was watching Din thoughtfully. “I want to say your name.”

When Din had arrived on Yavin IV, he’d been obliged to introduce himself but had explained the Mandalorian customs regarding names. Or more accurately, he hadn’t really explained anything. When Luke had called his name while he wasn’t wearing his helmet and he’d visibly flinched, then he’d said simply “I don’t use my name” and Luke had taken that at face value and stopped using it. That was a few months ago.

“Alright,” Din found himself saying. Then he added, “But only when we’re alone.” As soon as he said it, he expected Luke to argue, to say that it was ridiculous not to use his own name, but instead Luke looked pleased. He smiled so brightly that Din had trouble looking away.

“Anything else?” Din asked. He took a drink of water to wash down his breakfast.

Luke rested his chin on his hand, said with a soft smile, “I want to kiss you.”

Din choked on his water. Beside him, Grogu squeaked in alarm. Din coughed, wiping his face.

Luke frowned, “Are you alright?”

“You can’t…you can’t just say something like that while we’re eating,” Din managed.

Luke looked chagrined, but slightly amused. “Sorry,” he said. He didn’t sound particularly sorry.

“You mean…you really…”

“Want to kiss you? Yes, Din,” Luke said, and now he wasn’t being cheeky. Din stared at him for a long moment and decided that Luke’s expression was earnest, nervous even.

Finally Din spoke, “I had no idea you felt that way.”

“Really? No idea at all?”

Din shook his head ‘no’. Luke’s shoulders slumped a little.

“That’s almost worse than a flat out rejection. I thought it was fairly obvious. I really thought you might…” Din waited for him to finish, but he didn’t. Luke stared down at his plate. He looked genuinely pained.

Din thought back over the last few weeks and months. He really hadn’t known. But there was all the time they’d spent together, and not just the conversations about Luke’s lessons for Grogu or Din’s suggestions for improving security. Climbing the tallest part of the old temple in the dead of night to watch a meteor shower. The way Luke’s eyes brightened whenever Din called his name. How Luke had told him about losing his hand, even the part about his father, which was a secret only a handful of people knew.

So maybe he should have known. The silence had stretched out and he really needed to say something.

“Usually when people are interested in me, they are pretty up front about it. And usually they’re only after my beskar.” Nearly always they were only after his armor, and on the rare occasions when that wasn’t the case, Din had invariably ended up with his heart badly broken. It had been many years since he’d even considered letting someone close.

“Oh. I see.” The sense of openness about Luke seemed to retreat, and it was a subtle shift but Din watched it happen with a feeling like watching sand fall through his fingers.

“Grogu,” Luke put on a cheerful smile, “It’s time for your lessons. I have a lot planned for today!”

Grogu’s ears twitched. He quickly finished eating the last piece of toast that he’d somehow managed to snatch from Luke’s plate, then climbed down from his chair. Luke started to gather the trays.

Din held out a hand to stop him. “I’ll do that.”

“Thank you,” Luke said. He didn’t use Din’s name. He followed Grogu out the door.

Din knew they were headed to a spacious room nearby with tall windows and faded patterns etched in the stone walls that Luke had cleaned up and decided to use as a classroom. Sometimes Din followed them and watched the Jedi lessons for a while. Today he only watched them leave, then slowly gathered up their breakfast trays.

He had one foot out the door when he froze, spun on his heels and went back to set the trays down and put his helmet on before picking them up again.

…………………

TBC!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, I have one more chapter planned for this one! Poor Luke, he really thought Din had noticed his flirting! They even went stargazing together!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Luke's confession, Din needs some time to process. Will he ever figure out what to say to Luke?

In many religions, followers tend to have a routine, a set schedule where they visit a temple or offer prayers. Mandalorians demonstrate their dedication by regularly cleaning and maintaining their weapons and armor.

Din spent the day in his ship, carefully breaking down, cleaning and tuning up every weapon in his arsenal. His collection was smaller than the one he’d kept on the Razor Crest, but it was adequate. He particularly missed his disruptor rifle.

After he was satisfied that everything was in top condition, he started on his armor. There was a saying, a Mandalorian is only as good as their gear. If you didn’t maintain your gear properly, it could cost you your life.

As he worked, his mind drifted. What had Luke been planning to say earlier, with ‘I really thought you might…’?

Din removed his helmet. It was well past time to replace the thin layer of foam lining on the inside. It was a painstaking process to remove every last scrap of the old, compressed foam before carefully applying a fresh layer. Some Mandalorian’s didn’t bother with any cushioning at all, given how much trouble it was to maintain, but Din found that it really did make a difference, especially given how often he was struck on the head. A centimeter of high impact foam could mean the difference between a debilitating concussion and a mild headache.

Din took a break to stretch out his back. He stared at his silver helmet, resting on the workbench. He still didn’t know what had possessed him to let Luke wear it. In his whole life, he’d never bothered to correct people when they made assumptions about his gear. He knew they only did it to get a rise out of him, or out of resentment.

So, why had it been so important to show Luke what it was really like to wear the helmet? And it should have felt like a violation, like seeing someone else wearing his face, but instead Din had felt proud. Watching Luke jump to his feet and spin around in wonder, he’d felt happy.

Din only realized how late it was when his stomach growled. He ate a protein bar while he waited for the foam in his helmet to set. When it was done, he put it back on his head and stowed everything in its place.

Back in the temple, Din went to check on Grogu. The kid was sleeping peacefully in his miniature bed. Fixed above the bed was a ring with small ship models hanging off it, each painted with a luminescent color. Din tapped it, set the ships spinning.

He glanced at the door that connected to Luke’s bedroom. It was an old fashioned wooden door that didn’t fully seal around the edges, so Din could tell that the light on the other side was off. Luke was probably asleep, which was just as well because Din still had no idea what to say to fix things.

Instead of crossing the hall to his own room, Din started walking. He climbed a narrow staircase that took him to a rooftop access where he found the crumbling stairs built into the side of the temple complex. His legs were already sore from the morning’s run but he kept climbing until he made it to the highest spot. In all directions, there was nothing but forest and night sky, lit only by the crescent of the gas giant visible near the horizon. Din paused to catch his breath and take it all in. He belatedly noticed a figure sitting alone in the dark.

Luke glanced over his shoulder at Din, then looked back out over the jungle. He was sitting with his knees drawn up, chin resting on his crossed arms. Din walked over and sat down next to him.

“How did you know I was here?” Luke asked without looking at him.

“I didn’t. I thought you were sleeping.”

“Oh,” Luke sighed. “For a moment I thought you had come looking for me.” Luke’s voice was steady, as always, but there was something about his expression before he looked away that struck Din as incredibly sad.

Din removed his helmet and set it on the ground beside him. He thought Luke might ask where he’d been all day. He wanted Luke to say something, anything, to go back to his cheerful self, so they could go back to the easy feeling between them. Because being close to Luke was easy in a way that it wasn’t with anyone else, not with Cara Dune, not even with the Mandalorians from his covert who he’d known for years.

Luke didn’t say anything. He wasn’t even watching the night sky. He was staring at his feet. Din had never seen him look so dejected.

“You really like me that much?” Din asked.

“I already told you that I do.” Luke said quietly.

This was the moment where Din could fix everything, if only he could think of the right thing to say. He’d never been good at talking. He scooted closer to Luke and draped his arm over Luke’s shoulder. Luke felt solid and warm and the uncertainty that had been eating at Din since breakfast began to dissolve.

Luke only put his forehead on his arms, hiding his face. He took a shaky breath, said, “Din. If this is your way of letting me down easy, I’ll tell you, it’s not helping.”

Din pulled his arm back so that he could remove his gloves, dropping them both into his lap.

“Luke,” he said, and he didn’t mean to use the commanding voice he used with bounties.

Luke raised his head. He looked like he was bracing himself for a punch.

Din was still sitting so close that he barely had to move to reach out and cup Luke’s face in his hands. For a long moment he stared at Luke, taking in every detail of his face, the faded scar along his right temple, the blue eyes that always looked at him with what he now saw was affection, the lips slightly chapped from so much time in the sun.

Din closed the distance between them and kissed him. Luke seemed surprised for a second, but then he was returning the kiss, placing his hands over Din’s. When they broke for air, Din rested his forehead against Luke’s. He was afraid to say anything, to break this wonderful feeling.

Luke tilted his head a little and kissed him again. Din closed his eyes, lost in the feeling of Luke’s mouth on his, Luke’s fingers tangled in his hair. The kiss was slow and sensual. Din wrapped his arms around Luke, holding him tight, feeling the soft fabric of his shirt with his bare hands. 

“Din,” Luke said, and Din liked how softly he said his name, “I know you hate it when people try to take off your armor…but maybe you can make one more exception for me.”

Din extracted himself from Luke’s embrace. He stood, tucking his gloves into his belt and holding his helmet in one hand. Luke frowned up at him.

Din made an incredulous expression, said, “You can’t expect me to take off my armor out here.” He reached out a hand to help Luke up. Luke took it and let Din pull him to his feet.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” Din smiled.

Luke didn’t let go of his hand. He stepped closer to Din and gave him one more kiss before following him down the stairs.

…………………

The End! <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you say, does this make up for dragging everything out last chapter? ;)

**Author's Note:**

> This one can be read as friendship or pre-ship, but if I write the follow-up I have in mind, it will be more shipy :) Please review!


End file.
